Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-03-31
HORSE TALK.
The Breeding mare, Her Care and Feea-The
Colt-What to Do and What, toA Avoid, Etc.

The Breeding Mare, Her Care and Feea-The
Colt-What to Do and What to- Avoid, Etc.
The breeding mare must be watched
closely in the spring. More than any
other animal, unless it is the stallion,
she needs exercise. It Is on this account
that the mare which works in the team,
unless overworked, always does, well. She
may drop her colt in the fuzrow with the
harness on, or in the stable at nOontime
(such cases have nappenede, and with
rest of two or three days she will resume
her work and the little colt do well. There
is danger'of overlooking the mare and
under-feeding the colt. Waen a. mare in
foal gets all the clover hay she wants, she
has the best food she can have, and no
grain is necessary. When she Is fed
mostly on straw she req pires bran or oats
to mako up the elements required to keep
up her vitality and to make the colt
strong A weak colt Ia always a great
bother, and the chances are ten to one 1T
will die. The owner must look oat and
see if the mare is going to have milk; for
il she does not, there is d dozen chances
to one he will lose the colt. The foal may
be very strong and active when the dam
has no milk, and it may follow her around
for day or two without any food before
it will gire up and become so weak as not
to get up. It is not we'll for the mare to
have too much milk: this Is often the
case with mares which. have had several
colts. When the milk begins to run be-
fore ths colt is born the mare should be
put on shorter pasture, so as to reduce
the supply of food. If the mare is be-
ing fed grain this supply should be
stopped. 1t is better for the mare to be
in the field on grass'when the colt is born,
and when this is the case the 6eld should
be one free from Iairy spots or the foal
may get stuck in them.
4 roomy box stall is good place for a
mare to be in at the time of foaling. The
blanket in which the colt IS encased is
| quite strong, ana sometimes the little
foal is not able to break it, and if the
mother does not do it with her tongue,
/ following the instinct of licking the foal,
! it will smother. It Will always pay to be
on the watch when the feal is born, to
prevent accidents of this Kind, and es-
| pecialIy when the sire is of larger frame
| than the DAM. 1T does not in jure mare
in foal to work, unless she labor Is strain
| ing or exhaustive, such as hard pulling.
To jog along the road is not hurtful. The
mare shoul2 not be In field with other
| horses or COLTS, as nof 1nSt1ncbS Will ledQ
her to try TO keep away from them, and
in so doing she may run so much as to
rain the muscles underneath the foetus,
and cause rupture of them and ruin her,
or it may cause abortion. kick on the
| stomach is liable TO be had, with conse-
quent dangers. Sometimes the mare will
not let the colt suck, and sometimes the
milk will start so hard the little colt can
not get it. This is more likely to occur
with the first colt. It is always well to
start the milk with the thumb and fore
finger and be sure of 1t, and then to
watch and see if the colt swallows. There
are too many starved colts. When the
mare works the colt should not suck her
when she is hot. If il does, it will be
| stunted and show it by its coat being
| dead The mare should never work hard
enough to get heated. and if she is thus
worked, she must be allowed to cool off
before the colt sucks.
A certain amount of fodder, say fifteen
pounds per day, will keep yearling colt
alive, and twenty pounds one years old.
Give each five pounds more OF hay and
they will grow; the last five pounds will
make gain; the same rule will apply to
any stock. It is the excess of food over
and above that required to make "a live